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Athena
"Death cannot hold those with purpose Kratos" - Athena Greek Mythology Athena (pronounced /əˈθiːnə/) or Athene (/əˈθiːniː/; Attic: Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnā or Ἀθηναία, Athēnaia; Epic: Ἀθηναίη, Athēnaiē; Ionic: Ἀθήνη, Athēnē; Doric: Ἀθάνα, Athana; Latin: Minerva), also referred to as Pallas Athena (Παλλάς Αθηνά; pronounced /ˈpæləs/), is the goddess of civilisation, wisdom, strength, strategy, craft, justice and skill in Greek mythology. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is also a shrewd companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens. The Athenians built the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens, in her honour (Athena Parthenos). In the God of War series Throughout the series Athena serves as the patron god of Kratos. She watches over him, guides him, and protects him. After Ares tricked Kratos into murdering his family Athena became Kratos's refuge. In exchange for years of service she promised to purifiy him of his past crimes. It was she who often told Kratos of tasks the gods wanted him to perform. ''God of War'' Out of utter hatred and jealousy towards Athena, Ares summoned monsters from the Underworld and attackedthe city of Athens to prove his superiority over her to Zeus.. Zeus had forbid the gods from battling each other directly. Taking advantage of this decree Ares himself led the attack on Athens. Athena and the other gods sought to empower Kratos to save Athens and put an end to Ares's rampages once and for all. She guides him thorughout the game to Pandora's Box. After the death of Ares she reveals that Kratos is forgiven of his sins, but the gods never agreed to relieve him of his nightmares. That no mortal or god could ever forget the terrible things he had done.. With all hope lost, Kratos felt abandoned and flung himself from the Suicide Bluffs overlooking the Aegean Sea, believing death was his only escape from the nightmares. It was not as it seemed, as Athena saved Kratos from falling to his death. The gods had not abandoned Kratos at all. Athena gave Kratos the throne of Ares and was given the title of God of War. She also granted him the Blades of Athena, weapons far more powerful than the Blades of Chaos. ''God of War II'' As the new God of War, Kratos was far more ruthless than Ares ever was. He was shunned by his fellow gods and in anger towards them for not ridding him of his nightmares he turned to the Spartan army. Together, they began conquering all of Greece. Athena warned Kratos that if he did not stop his path of destruction, the wrath of Olympus would grow ever stronger and she would not be able to protect him. Kratos, sneering at Athena, turned his back on her and fled to the island of Rhodes where his Spartan army lay siege. Athena was left with no other choice but to help rid Olympus of Kratos. As a mighty colossal god, Kratos tore apart the city of Rhodes until an eagle flew over him, casting a reign of magic that would shrink him down to mortal size. Kratos believed it was Athena’s act of defiance against Kratos, until it was actually revealed to be the King of the Gods himself – Zeus. During Kratos’ journey through the Island of Creation, he came upon the Garden of the Gods, where a golden statue of Athena warned him not to listen to Gaia or the Titans. She explained to Kratos that there were more important things besides seeking revenge and that Zeus did what he had to in order to protect Olympus. The King of the Gods did in fact fear Kratos. The warnings of Athena did not startle Kratos, and he continued his path of vengeance until facing Zeus once again. Taking the Blade of Olympus, Kratos plunged Zeus with it repeatedly until Athena intervened. Angered by Athena’s intervention, Kratos pushes her aside and strikes at the fleeing Zeus. Athena threw herself in front of Zeus before he could be stabbed, and fell by Kratos’ hand. Saddened by what he had done, Kratos asked Athena why she would sacrifice herself. Athena replied that Zeus must live so that Olympus prevailed. She also revealed that Kratos was the bastard child of Zeus, compelled to destroy his father just as Zeus had done to Cronos and Cronos had done to Uranus. Sickened by this very fact, Kratos claimed he had no father, leaving Athena to die. The time of Olympus would come to an end. God of War III "I see truths where I did not before..." After falling from Gaia's back Kratos falls into a hole that leads him into the Underworld. There, Athena's spectre appears to Kratos and gives him the Blades of Exile and also tells him that in order for him to defeat Zeus he must venture back up the mountain and extinguish The Flame of Olympus which lies on the other side of Hera's Garden. Athena is also seen talking to Kratos about Pandora's Box when Kratos runs into Hermes, and seen again at the end of the game. Athena explains that her death has brought about a change in her, an ascension to a level beyond that of the Gods, and that she understands more in this form than she did in the past. She states that Zeus' death is necessary if humanity is ever to be freed, and aids Kratos throughout his quest. When Kratos succeeds in killing Zeus, Athena stated that it is time that mankind heard her message and asks that he give her power back to her. However, Kratos cites the chaos ravaging the world and that Pandora's Box was empty. Athena then realized that when Kratos opened the box to defeat Ares, it unleashed all the evils Zeus captured and infected the gods. Kratos had in fact had the power of hope, the power that Athena sealed in the box should it ever be opened again, buried by his guilt. Athena asked again that he return the power of hope to her, so that she can restore the world. However, Kratos instead decides to impale himself with the Blade of Olympus, releasing hope to mankind. A horrified Athena says that mankind would not know what to do with such power, before expressing her disappointment in Kratos, removing the blade from his chest and leaves. Relationships Athena was very devoted to protecting Olympus and her father, Zeus. She was favored by Zeus among the rest of his children, causing the jealousy of the god Ares. In both God of War and God of War II, it is noticed that Athena cares very much for Kratos, maybe because she already knew Kratos is her brother. Kratos was shown to care about her to a degree, since he was saddened by the fact that he killed her when he tried to kill Zeus, whom despite favoring Athena, showed no emotion over her death. After her death something changed Athena. She became devoted to the destruction of Zeus and overthrowing the Olympian order. Powers and Abilities As a goddess, Athena was able to appear in many forms and was Invincible. Like all other gods, she was Immortal and very powerful, only able to be killed by the power of the Blade of Olympus and Pandora's Box . She gave Kratos the Rage of the Gods in God of War to use to destroy his enemies. She bears two short swords on her back, which was used to stop Kratos from killing Zeus with the Blade of Olympus. She also had the power to communicate through various statue depictions of herself, usually doing so to guide Kratos. Trivia *In God of War and God of War II, Athena is voiced by Carole Ruggier, who also did the voice of Athena in the video game ''Age of Mythology''. *In God of War II, one of the Bonus Costumes allows Kratos to become Athena. *She is the only goddess that plays a major role in all three games. *With her death, both the original God and Goddess of War have died. *Of all the gods of Mount Olympus in God of War, Athena is arguably the least selfish and is in fact very noble. But, in God of War 3, her motives have somewhat changed. For some reason her death has caused her to desire the death of Zeus and motivate Kratos's quest for vengeance. She has come to desire the destruction of the Olympian gods so she can rule as the sole god. She claims to bring hier message to humanity. It is unknown what ultimely purpose she had in mind. Related Pages *Gods *Athens *Athena (Costume) *Athena's Swords Gallery Category:Characters Category:God of War 1 Characters Category:God of War 2 Characters Category:God of War:Chains of Olympus Characters Category:Immortals Category:Relatives of Zeus Category:Deceased characters Category:Gods Category:God of War 3 Characters Category:Female characters